Hudson Valley Region, October 2017

FIRM EXPANSIONS AND CONTRACTIONS

Hudson Valley Region

October 2017

New York State Department of LaborDivision of Research and Statistics120 Bloomingdale Road, Room 218White Plains, NY 10605914-997-8798

This briefing provides information on firm-specific hiring and layoff announcements in the Hudson Valley. The information in this report is derived from press releases, newspapers, business journals, newsletters and other public sources. It does not include all expansions and contractions in the region – only those for which public information has been obtained. An attempt is made to present only current information – events that have recently occurred or will occur in the near future.

BUSINESS EXPANSIONS FOR THE HUDSON VALLEY REGION

Dutchess CountyConstruction is underway on the new Hyatt Place hotel on Route 9 in the Town of Poughkeepsie. It is estimated that the new hotel will have a nearly $1 million impact on the economy, through annual tax revenues and new employment salaries. The hotel development will create about 100 jobs, including 35 full-time hotel staffs and 65 temporary construction jobs. The project received all the necessary approvals and construction began in September 2017, with a scheduled opening in fall 2018.

Orange CountyThe CEO of Legoland’s parent company Merlin Entertainments, recently announced that its plan for the $350 million Legoland theme park in Goshen is moving forward and anticipates an opening in 2020. This park will be Legoland’s first facility in the Northeast and third in the U.S., joining others in Florida, and California. The company will receive a $25 million grant from Empire State Development Corp. towards the project. The plans also call for a 250-room hotel to be open year-round. The project will create 800 temporary construction jobs and when opened, the theme park would employ an estimated 1,300 full- and part-time employees.

Waterstone Retail, the developer behind the massive 700,000sq. ft. Ridge Hudson Valley retail complex in Newburgh is offering the school district a $3.5 million cash payment and other incentives as it seeks support for a tax-break deal in which the district and the Town of Newburgh would forgo millions in revenue. Plans for the $161.5 million Ridge Hudson Valley retail facility would include an 85,000sq. ft. BJs Wholesale Club, a 50,000sq. ft. Dick’s Sporting Goods, and a 78,000sq. ft. ShopRite, which would relocate from its South Plank Road location. The facility would also have restaurants, specialty shops, and an outdoor park for movies and public events.

Putnam CountyNothing to report.

Rockland CountyNothing to report.

Sullivan CountyWhen the Resorts World Catskills Casino officially opens in March 2018, it will need an estimated 1,400 full-time and 100 part-time employees. Empire Resorts, parent company of Resort World Catskills is also recruiting 600 table game dealers to staff the floor. Up to 1,000 applications are expected for those 600 openings. Dealer jobs have a salary range between $40,000 and $50,000 annually, and supervisor positions will pay more. Empire Resorts is running three training schools to train people for those positions. The free training is being held at locations in Rock Hill in Sullivan County, in Ellenville in Ulster County and at Stewart International Airport in Orange County. The minimum course at the training school will be 20 hours per week for six weeks. Everyone who works at the casino will be required to have a New York State Gaming Commission license.

Kohl’s Mamakating Distribution Center on Route 209 in Wurtsboro is currently hiring for the holidays. The distribution center is looking to hire about 180 seasonal workers, including seasonal associates, who ensure Kohl’s products reaches its retail stores and its customers. Kohl’s is also recruiting for full-time maintenance technicians, distribution center associates, intimate accessories specialists, sales associates, freight associates and loss prevention officers. For more information on job responsibilities and roles, visit KohlsCareers.com .

Construction on the new Sullivan County Jail has just about reached its halfway mark. Construction of the $72.577 million project, which includes the jail, as well as new offices for the sheriff’s patrol and civil divisions is on schedule, with an anticipated completion date by November 14, 2018. The new jail will have 256 beds, as compared to the old jail’s state-mandated count of 185.

Ulster CountyThe $300 million Nevele redevelopment project is moving forward. Michael Trenor, the developer behind the project recently announced that he had secured $313 million to finance it. The plans which had been in the works since 2015 calls for a mega sport complex. Dubbed “ProSport Campus”, it will feature four regulation, professional-size baseball fields, four youth baseball-size fields, batting cages and six multi-purpose soccer fields that can also be used for lacrosse and field hockey. In addition, the plans also call for renovating the old hotel and providing 467 rooms, restaurants, a 40,000sq. ft. conference hall, restoration of the 18-hole golf course, an indoor spa, indoor pools, a water park, skiing and refurbishing the ice rink.

Westchester CountyBreslin Realty Development Corp. plans to build a 121,000sq. ft. Lowe’s home improvement center in Yorktown. The plans also calls for additional retail space and other businesses at the complex. Demolition work on the property’s existing dilapidated structures recently began and the developer anticipates construction to start in January 2018 with the stores opening later in 2018. The project replaces a previously approved plan for a 151,092sq. ft. Costco and a members-only gas fueling station on the 19-acre parcel near the intersection of Crompond Road and Taconic State Parkway. No job numbers were announced.

Club Champion, a custom golf club-fitting retailer headquartered in suburban Chicago, will open its first Westchester County store in downtown White Plains. The retailer recently signed a lease for 2,537sq. ft. of space at 220 Main Street in the City Center complex. Club Champion operates 20 stores nationwide.

German liqueur maker Jagermeister recently moved its U.S. headquarters to a newly-renovated space at 10 Bank Street in White Plains. The new 30,000sq. ft. headquarters occupies the entire 9th floor of the 12-story building, housing about 65 employees. No new job numbers were announced.

Headquartered in Purchase, National Realty & Development Corp. recently broke ground on a multi-million dollar condo project in New Rochelle. The company has built projects in 14 states, but until recently had avoided projects in Westchester County. Dubbed “Watermark Pointe condominiums,” the $100 million project calls for nine four-story buildings with 74 apartments and a club house. NRDC is offering two models: The Beachcomber, at 2,480sq. ft., with two bedrooms, a den and two-and-a-half bathrooms; The Aurora, a 2,717sq. ft., with 3 bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms. Price for the apartments ranges from $1.5 million to $2.5 million. No job numbers were announced.

The Brain and Spine Surgeons of New York, a privately owned White Plains-based physician group recently finished its move into a newly expanded 25,000sq. ft. office at 4 Westchester Park Drive. The medical group includes some of the top neurosurgeons in the region and they have individual affiliations with hospitals farther north, such as Westchester Medical Center, which operates MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie and Health Quest’s Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie.

The Stagg Group, a Purchase-based developer, was recently granted site plan approval for its 160-unit housing complex on Bronx River Road in Yonkers. The new complex will feature 160 apartments, of which 10 percent will be designated towards affordable housing as is required by Yonkers’ affordable housing rules. The two-year construction project is expected to create 60 temporary jobs with an estimated payroll of $18.3 million. The new apartments are scheduled for occupancy on January 2020.

BUSINESS CONTRACTIONS FOR THE HUDSON VALLEY REGION

Dutchess CountyNothing to report.

Orange CountyChuck E. Cheese recently closed its restaurant in Orange Plaza in the Town of Wallkill. The restaurant’s lease was expiring and they were unable to negotiate an extension at a lower rate. The company would not disclose at this point if it would open a new location in the immediate area. No job numbers were announced.

Putnam CountyNothing to report.

Rockland CountyCasabella Holdings, LLC., a company that design stylish functional home products, filed a WARN notice with the NYS Department of Labor on October 20, 2017 in anticipation of a mass layoff. The company will lay off 43 of its 65 employees on March 1, 2018. The affected workers are not represented by a union.

Sullivan CountyNothing to report.

Ulster CountyNothing to report.

Westchester CountyBrandi Pizzeria and Trattoria, an Italian restaurant in Port Chester, official closed its doors in August 2017, only three months after it had officially opened for business. The reason for its sudden closure is not known. No job numbers were announced.

White Fleischner & Fino, LLP., a leading insurance coverage and defense law firm, filed a WARN notice with the NYS Department of Labor on October 25, 2017 in anticipation of a mass layoff. The company will lay off a total of 59 employees, including 45 in its Broadway office in NYC, 7 in its Garden City office in Long Island, and 7 employees in its White Plains office. The layoffs will occur on January 31, 2018.